Thai Spicy Chili Garlic Noodles with Basil and Peanuts

As I have said several times before Thai food is my favorite after Italian (and of course Indian) cuisine. I like everything about the cuisine - the ingredients used, the flavor, the way it is cooked, the fresh herbs and aromatic spices and above all the way it tastes. Another reason for my soft corner for Thai food is the familiar spices that inspire flavors similar to my very own Indian cuisine. Among the different Thai dishes the variety of curries definitely top the charts. The unique burst of flavors and the gorgeous color is so appealing and appetizing. Hubs, kiddo and I are all BIG into noodles so the Pad-Thais and other kinds are definitely the highlight of our trip to any Thai restaurant or takeout. I have shared quite a few Thai recipes that you can see here and this is my very own version of spicy Thai noodles with aggressive yet subtle flavors and simple basic ingredients. The chilli-garlic oil is definitely the highlight of the recipe. It gives the noodles the clean and crisp taste and yet the spicy kick it renders definitely kicks it up a couple of notches.

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Chilli Paneer dry/Paneer cheese in a spicy chilli soy sauce

o tantrums and food have any relation for you? Well, in my case, growing up they had quite a lot to do with each other. This is what my dear mom used to cook especially for me when me - the brat - used to tell her "mom, you don't love me anymore", count to her all the occasions when I was refused an ice-cream, a barbie doll, Shahrukh's poster and the bestest most expensive dress in the mall! She knew how to get me back to behaving normally... lol.

I love Chinese food but I have a certain (very strong) bias towards Indian-Chinese (aka indo-chinese) cuisine. We Indians have had a long-lived love affair with Chinese food. Long before pizzas, burgers and junk food became popular, it was Chinese food that most of us wanted when we craved something exotic and different. One may argue that Indo-chinese is not really chinese food as it is not very close to authentic chinese food. It has been totally adapted and re-flavored to suit an Indian palette. But hey, that is what fusion food is all about, right? Who knew the marriage of a little soy sauce with Indian spices could be so delicious! A big bright star of the Indian Chinese cuisine, featured on almost every menu of an Indian restaurant, be it upscale or roadside.

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Meatless balls with spaghetti

After coming to the US, as I got more familiar with the local cuisine, I found that spaghetti and meat balls were a staple, especially with kids. I was always curious what they would be like, but being a vegetarian never tried them. Then one fine morning it struck me "how about making a vegetarian version of meat balls" or 'meat less balls '. The more I thought about it soy seemed a natural choice to replace the meat. I combine soy with vegetables and spices and baked them. They are fun, easy and taste just great. My little princess loves it :)

So here is my attempt at recreating the classic in its vegetarian version.

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Chilli paneer

I love paneer and I love indo-chinese so as you can imagine, since this dish combines both, it tops my charts... spicy, yummy and quick to fix at the same time. I remember this was one of the few dishes we would expect to eat only in restaurants. Then one day mom made it at home and it was a instant hit among family and friends. My brother and I could not wait for the next time she would make it (at times we would force her :) ... so good! It is one of the very few dishes I knew how to make before getting married. It is also one of the first few dishes that got my hubby believing soon after we got married that 'the wife can cook'!

It is essentially paneer cubes cooked with bell peppers, onions and green chillies and simmered in chilli and soy sauce.
It can be made either dry or with gravy. In its dry form, it is typically served as an appetizer. In its gravied form it gets easily converted into main course paired with some chinese style fried rice. The recipe below talks about both versions.

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